• Cheng Huang, Chaoran Guo, Catherine Nichols, Shuo Chen, and Reynaldo Martorell.
• George Washington University - Department of Global Health, Washington, District of Columbia, United States, UC Berkeley School of Public Health - Health Services & Policy Analysis, Berkeley, California, United States, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, Maryland, United States and Emory University - Hubert Department of Global Health, Atlanta, Georgia, United States chenghuang@gwu.edu.
• Int J Epidemiol. 2014 Dec 1;43(6):1806-14.

BackgroundAnimal models have suggested that undernutrition during gestation and the early postnatal period may adversely affect kidney development and compromise renal function. As a natural experiment, famines provide an opportunity to test such potential effects in humans. We assessed whether exposure to the Chinese famine of 1959-1961 during gestation and early postnatal life was associated with the levels of proteinuria among female adults three decades after exposure to the famine.MethodsWe measured famine intensity using the cohort size shrinkage index and we constructed a difference-in-difference model to compare the levels of proteinuria, measured with a dipstick test of random urine specimens, among Chinese women (n = 70 543) whose exposure status to the famine varied across birth cohorts (born before, during or after the famine) and counties of residence with different degrees of famine intensity.ResultsFamine exposure was associated with a greater risk [odds ratio (OR) = 1.54; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04, 2.28; P = 0.029) of having higher level of proteinuria among women born during the famine years (1959-61) compared with the unexposed post famine-born cohort (1964-65) in rural samples. No association was observed among urban samples. Results were robust to adjustment for covariates.ConclusionsSevere undernutrition during gestation and the early postnatal period may have long-term effects on levels of proteinuria in humans, but the effect sizes may be small.© The Author 2014; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

30 keywords...

hide…